2025-10-03 07:30
WARSAW, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Polish link with NATO pipeline system will cost 20 billion zlotys ($5.5 billion), defence deputy minister said on Friday after Polish pipeline operator PERN had signed a preliminary deal with the ministry to extend the country's fuel pipelines to connect them with the NATO system. "We are talking about...construction of pipelines over a distance of 300 km...we are talking about one of the largest investments in the security of the Polish state in the last 30 years," Cezary Tomczyk said. Sign up here. ($1 = 3.6317 zlotys) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/polish-link-with-nato-pipeline-system-cost-20-billion-zlotys-2025-10-03/
2025-10-03 07:28
Russian warships use sonar and jamming equipment, Denmark's defence intelligence agency says Sailed on collision courses with Danish warships, it says Denmark sees Russian actions as hybrid warfare against West Russia denies responsibility for hybrid attacks in Europe NATO strengthens Baltic operations, Sweden expands maritime surveillance COPENHAGEN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Russian warships have repeatedly sailed on collision courses, aimed weapons at Danish naval vessels and disrupted navigation systems in Denmark's straits that connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, its defence intelligence service said on Friday. Such incidents risk unintended escalation, it said. Sign up here. The Baltic region remains on high alert after incidents involving undersea cables, gas pipeline outages, airspace violations and drone sightings since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which increased tensions between Moscow and the West. Denmark, a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia, has beefed up its military budget and committed to acquiring long-range precision weapons capable of striking targets inside Russia. RUSSIAN WARSHIPS POINT WEAPONRY AT DANISH HELICOPTERS, DANISH INTELLIGENCE SAYS "We have seen several incidents in the Danish straits, where Danish air force helicopters and naval vessels have been targeted by tracking radars and physically pointed at with weapons from Russian warships," Danish Defence Intelligence Service Director Thomas Ahrenkiel told a press conference. He said Russian warships had sailed on collision courses with Danish vessels during their passage through the straits. Ahrenkiel said a Russian warship has been anchored in Danish waters for over a week, suggesting possible interference from Moscow if Denmark tried to curb movements of Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions on its oil exports imposed over its war with Ukraine. In May, tensions escalated in the Baltic Sea when Russia deployed a fighter jet during Estonia's interception of a Russian-bound oil tanker suspected of being part of the shadow fleet. The Danish straits, a busy international shipping route, see frequent movement of Russian military vessels that are typically escorted by Denmark's navy. Defence intelligence has also recorded Russian warships sailing through Danish straits with sonar and jamming equipment, according to Ahrenkiel. He said it was "highly probable" that they, on at least one occasion, had jammed signals and caused extensive GPS interference in Denmark. Denmark's intelligence service assesses that Russia is conducting hybrid warfare against Denmark and the broader West. "Russia is using military means, including in an aggressive way, to put pressure on us without crossing the line into armed conflict in a traditional sense," Ahrenkiel said. Moscow has repeatedly denied responsibility for hybrid attacks in Europe. President Vladimir Putin joked on Thursday that he would not fly drones over Denmark anymore and described as "nonsense" the idea that his country would potentially target a NATO member. The White House said on Friday the report of Russian naval provocations against Denmark was a serious matter. "It's something the administration takes very seriously, and we are constantly monitoring it. The National Security Council here at the White House is in constant correspondence with our NATO allies, and the president speaks to many of them as well," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a briefing. NO DIRECT MILITARY THREAT DESPITE INCIDENTS Despite the incidents, defence intelligence emphasised that there was no direct military threat against Denmark. However, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen last week described recent drone incursions over Danish airports and military installations as a "hybrid attack" on the country. Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said investigations into the incidents were continuing, with no conclusions yet on the identity of the perpetrator. Hybrid threats, which include sabotage, disinformation, espionage and cyberattacks, have been flagged as increasingly aggressive by Western security agencies. NATO has strengthened , opens new tab its Baltic operations in response to the drone incursions. Sweden proposed new legislation on Friday to expand maritime surveillance by its coast guard. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/high-risk-sabotage-against-danish-armed-forces-intelligence-service-says-2025-10-03/
2025-10-03 06:56
No injuries reported from explosion, fire Chevron said the fire had been put out Blaze could affect jet fuel supply to LAX, southern California No evacuations ordered due to fire Oct 3 (Reuters) - Chevron's (CVX.N) , opens new tab 285,000-barrel-per-day El Segundo refinery in southern California had taken multiple units offline on Friday after a large fire erupted in a jet fuel production unit, disrupting supply in the Golden State's isolated energy market. The El Segundo refinery is the second largest in California and Chevron's second-biggest refinery in the United States. The facility supplies a fifth of all motor vehicle fuels and 40% of the jet fuel consumed in southern California. Sign up here. The fire at the facility's jet fuel production unit broke out on Thursday evening. No injuries were reported, and all workers at the refinery were accounted for, Chevron spokesperson Allison Cook said in an email. Chevron on Friday said the fire had been put out. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion at the facility in the suburb of El Segundo, which supplies jet fuel for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), located just north of the refinery. "There is no known impact to LAX at this time," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. LAX declined to comment. The fire broke out in the refinery's Isomax 7 unit, which converts mid-distillate fuel oil into jet fuel, two sources said. On Thursday evening, multiple units at the refinery were shut, including the 60,000 barrel per day (bpd) catalytic reformer, 45,000 bpd hydrocracker, and 73,000 bpd fluid catalytic cracker, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The refinery's crude distillation units were still online, two traders said, citing Wood Mackenzie data. AIRLINES HIT MORE THAN DRIVERS On the West Coast, traders were still assessing the extent of damage to the refinery, but early indications pointed to a small increase in motor fuel prices and potentially larger impacts for aviation fuel. Gasoline prices in California, already the highest in the country, are expected to rise five to 15 cents per gallon for now as the refinery's gasoline-producing unit was said to have not been impacted by the fire, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. California's nearly 28 million drivers were paying close to $4.70 a gallon for gasoline in the state as of Friday, compared to a national average of under $3.22 a gallon, GasBuddy data showed. However, airlines serving southern California will see much bigger impacts, with price for jet fuel surging by 33 cents a gallon Friday afternoon, De Haan said. California will likely need to pull more jet fuel imports from refiners in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan to make up for the loss of El Segundo's output, Asian trade sources said. Southern California's Long Beach region was receiving around 45,000 to 50,000 bpd of jet fuel imports in recent weeks, and would need to step that up by bringing one more cargo over the next few weeks, a market source said. Fuel prices in California were expected to surge in the months ahead, as Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab is winding down operations at its 139,000-bpd Los Angeles-area refinery for permanent closure and Valero's (VLO.N) , opens new tab Benicia refinery is set to close in April 2026. Those two refineries produce roughly 20% of the state's gasoline supply. "In a region that was already expected to see some tightness in supplies after a refinery shutdown this December, the fire could provide support to (fuel prices) in the area and a scramble ahead of the closure," said StoneX analyst Alex Hodes. FIREBALL TURNED THE SKY ORANGE Local officials said no evacuation orders were issued for nearby residents, some of whom live in apartment buildings across the street from the refinery. Residents of Manhattan Beach, located southwest of the refinery, were told to shelter in place until 2 a.m. "Chevron fire department personnel, including emergency responders from the cities of El Segundo and Manhattan Beach are actively responding to an isolated fire inside the Chevron El Segundo Refinery," Cook, the Chevron spokesperson, said on Friday. "All refinery personnel and contractors have been accounted for and there are no injuries," Cook said. Los Angeles residents posted numerous videos of the fire online, saying they were stunned by the noise of the blast. A University of California-San Diego camera captured video of the explosion shortly after 9:30 p.m. PDT (0430 GMT). A fireball from the blaze, along with the refinery's safety flare - triggered by the fire - turned the sky orange over western Los Angeles, pictures showed. Safety flares, which emit a tall plume of flame, are used when refineries cannot process hydrocarbons normally. In addition to Chevron, state and federal safety agencies said they will investigate the fire after the blaze is extinguished. In December 2022, an isolated fire in the refinery was quickly extinguished. In the U.S. so far in 2025, there have been several refinery fire incidents. The refinery's total storage capacity is 12.5 million barrels in about 150 major tanks. The sources said they were not sure how much jet fuel was currently in storage. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fire-breaks-out-chevrons-refinery-el-segundo-la-times-says-2025-10-03/
2025-10-03 06:32
Global uncertainty may prod firms to cut costs, Ueda says 'Quite significant' uncertainty remains on tariff impact Ueda wants to gather information in talks during IMF meeting Underlying inflation to rise in tandem with actual price moves Yen weakens vs dollar as markets saw remarks as dovish OSAKA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said inflation was on track to durably hit the bank's target but warned of global uncertainties that could discourage firms from raising wages, leaving himself a free hand on whether to raise interest rates in October. Ueda reiterated the central bank's resolve to continue raising still low interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with its forecasts. Sign up here. But he said there were various uncertainties surrounding Japan's economic outlook, such as growing signs of labour market weakness in the United States and the expected impact of higher U.S. tariffs on Japanese corporate profits. "If uncertainty regarding overseas economies and trade policies remains high, firms may place stronger emphasis on cost-cutting and may weaken their efforts to reflect price increases in wages," Ueda said in a speech to business leaders in Osaka on Friday. The Japanese yen weakened 0.3% to 147.72 per U.S. dollar after Ueda's comments, as some market players interpreted them as reducing the likelihood of an October rate hike. "There wasn't any clear change in the BOJ's communication that would suggest it was trying to lay the groundwork for an October rate hike," said Shotaro Mori, senior economist at SBI Shinsei Bank, predicting that a hike in December was now more likely than October. The remarks came in the wake of a U.S. government shutdown that began on Wednesday, which is likely to delay the release of key economic data and complicate the BOJ's rate decision. While any delay in U.S. data would be a "serious" problem, the BOJ would scrutinise other available data to make up for the loss, Ueda told a news conference after delivering the speech. Ueda also said he hoped to gather information through talks with policymakers and bankers during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington later this month, suggesting the gathering's tone on the global outlook could affect the bank's decision on whether to hike in October. "There's quite significant uncertainty remaining on how tariffs could affect global, U.S. and Japanese economies," Ueda said, though adding the BOJ did not have to await all hard data to determine whether risks have been dispelled. NOT BEHIND-THE-CURVE Market players have been closely watching Ueda's comments for any clues on how soon the BOJ will resume a rate-hike cycle that has been paused due to uncertainty over the economic fallout from U.S. tariffs. A hawkish board split at the BOJ's September meeting and calls for a near-term rate hike by a dovish policymaker have led markets to price in over a 60% chance the bank will hike rates to 0.75% from 0.5% at its next policy meeting on October 29-30. Ueda said Japan's economy was weathering the hit from U.S. tariffs so far, with many companies armed with buffers from high profits accumulated in the past. He also said underlying inflation, or the broad price trend excluding one-off factors, will accelerate toward the BOJ's target - removing earlier reference it will briefly stall in a nod to recent mounting pressure from rising food costs. "Given intensifying labour shortages and rising medium- to long-term inflation expectations, underlying inflation is likely to accelerate in tandem with actual inflation," Ueda said. The remark compared with language in the BOJ's policy statement in September, which said underlying inflation "will be sluggish due to slowing growth, before increasing gradually." While rises in food costs will moderate, the pace of slowdown may be smaller than initially thought and could push up underlying inflation, Ueda told the news conference. "I don't think the risk is high but if so, it requires attention," Ueda said on the possibility of the BOJ being behind the curve in addressing the risk of too-high inflation. The BOJ has justified going slow on rate hikes on the view underlying inflation, or price rises driven by domestic demand as measured by various indicators, below its 2% target. The BOJ ended a massive, decade-long stimulus programme last year and raised rates to 0.5% in January, on the view that Japan was on the cusp of durably hitting its inflation target. While consumer inflation has exceeded 2% for more than three years, Ueda has stressed the need to tread cautiously in raising borrowing costs to ensure price rises are driven by wage gains and robust domestic demand. https://www.reuters.com/business/bojs-ueda-warns-global-uncertainty-impact-wage-outlook-2025-10-03/
2025-10-03 06:32
Gold up over 2% so far this week Traders price in 25-bp Fed rate cut this month Government shutdown delaying jobs, other data Oct 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Friday, poised for a seventh consecutive weekly rise, as expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts and concerns over the economic impact of a prolonged government shutdown lent support. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $3,861.04 per ounce by 1128 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,896.49 on Thursday. The bullion has gained 2.7% so far this week. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.4% to $3,884.30 per ounce. The prolonged U.S. government shutdown, now in its third day as of Friday, has delayed key economic data, including the non-farm payrolls report scheduled for release on Friday. Alternate data from public and private sources, showed the U.S. job market likely remained stalled in September with sluggish hiring and no change in unemployment rates. The data suggests Fed should cut rates, "and as we anticipate further rate cuts, this should support the gold price further over the coming months, looking for the yellow metal to breach the $4,000/oz mark by the end of this year," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Investors are pricing in a 97% probability of a 25-basis-point rate reduction in October and an 88% likelihood of another similar cut in December, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said the Fed appropriately took out some insurance against any sharp deterioration in the labour market with its rate cut last month, but needed to be "cautious". Gold, often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty, thrives in a low-interest-rate environment. Bullion has risen 47% so far this year. Meanwhile, physical gold demand in India rose this week despite record high prices, while Chinese markets were closed for a holiday. Elsewhere, spot silver climbed 1.1% to $47.46 per ounce, platinum rose 0.5% to $1,576.17 and palladium gained 1.2% to $1,255.43. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-set-seventh-weekly-rise-us-rate-cut-hopes-government-shutdown-2025-10-03/
2025-10-03 06:11
JAKARTA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Indonesia's private fuel retailers are facing gasoline shortages due to a jump in demand as consumers shift away from state-owned Pertamina following concerns over its fuel quality and as the government capped imports. Many fuel stations operated by companies such as Shell, BP, and others have run out of gasoline and are left selling only diesel, frustrating customers. Sign up here. WHY DID FUEL DEMAND AT PRIVATE RETAILERS SURGE? Indonesia's Attorney General in February named former executives of Pertamina suspects in a corruption probe, alleging that they issued instructions to blend lower-grade gasoline into its 92-octane grade, which could cause problems for vehicle engines. The state energy firm has denied this and pledged to improve transparency. Still, many consumers switched to private retailers. The shift was also driven by Pertamina's gradual move starting late last year requiring that customers register for a QR code to buy subsidised petrol, the energy ministry said in a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday. Only Pertamina sells subsidised gasoline in Indonesia. Daily sales volume of Pertamina's subsidised 90-octane gasoline dropped by 5% this year through July, while industry-wide sales of non-subsidised grades rose 19%, the ministry data showed. The ministry expects Pertamina's sales of non-subsidised gasoline to increase 14% to 7 million kilolitres (44 million barrels) this year, while sales by private companies are expected to surge 91% to 1.35 million kilolitres. Pertamina's market share of unsubsidised gasoline in January-July this year dropped to 85%, from 89% in 2024, the ministry said. WHY DON'T PRIVATE RETAILERS IMPORT MORE FUEL? In June, Shell and BP-AKR, a joint venture that operates BP stations, requested additional gasoline import quotas after demand surged, company executives told a parliamentary committee this week. On July 17, Indonesia's energy ministry issued a letter to the country's five private gasoline retailers stating that their 2025 gasoline imports were capped at 10% above what each sold last year. The limit was intended to maintain a healthy commodity balance sheet, said Laode Sulaeman, a senior official at the energy ministry. CAN PRIVATE RETAILERS IMPORT THROUGH PERTAMINA? The government last month instructed private companies to import through Pertamina, which still has 6.81 million kilolitres of unused import quota for 2025, according to Laode. Pertamina has agreed to import base fuel, which has not been dyed or mixed with additives, for the private companies, with the first such cargo, containing 100,000 barrels, intended for private companies arriving last week. WHAT'S HOLDING PRIVATE RETAILERS BACK FROM BUYING BASE FUEL FROM PERTAMINA? There have been some obstacles preventing the retailers from buying fuel from Pertamina. Pertamina said last week that retailer Vivo, an affiliate of Vitol, agreed to buy 40,000 barrels of the first import cargo. However, the deal fell through as the fuel contained ethanol, said Achmad Muchtasyar, an executive at Pertamina Patra Niaga, the company's trading arm, at the hearing this week. BP-AKR, which also sought to buy a portion of 100,000-barrel shipment, asked Pertamina to produce a certificate of origin for the fuel to show that the cargo was not sourced from sanctioned producers, which was not made available, Vanda Laura, chief executive of the joint venture, told the parliamentary hearing. Shell said at the hearing that it was in early-stage talks with Pertamina, conducting due diligence. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/why-do-private-gasoline-retailers-indonesia-face-shortages-2025-10-03/
